Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1887-07-01
THE NEW CERTIFICATES,
They Will Restore Silver to Its His.
torical Position by Creating an In.
ternatioual Market for ia Silver
Boom Coming.

New York have recommended the
official quotation of "Silver Bullion
Certificates" 1t will very probably
prove to be the first step toward the
restoration Of silver to its historical
position as one OF the precious metals.
1t is the act of men who have deeply
studied the silver problem, and are
practically acquainted with all its
ramifcations.
The new National Bank, of which
Mr.. Manning is President, has under
taken to store silver bullion on the
same system as gold is stored in New
York by the Bank of America. The
depositor will receive for it a certif-
cate expressing the weight and quail
ity Of the bullion. This certificate he
may transfer to anybody else, and
whoever presents it at the bank can
claim at any moment an equal weight
and quality of bullion. 1t becomes
a negotiable instrument which may
pass from hand to hand the same as
petroleum certificates or our own
metal warrants. The fact of the
New York Stock Exchange giving
them a quotation opens for them at
once the largest market IN the United
States, and there can be no doubt
that very active business will be
done in them. Silver will once more
be made an article of free trade with
out the help of Governments which
are all at skies and sevens among
themselves as to how it should be
treated.
Since France renowned her fixed
ratio between gold and silver, there
has been no regular open market for
the white metal. Especially in Europe
it has labored under great disadvan-
tages. France having already an
ample stock for currency purposes, no
longer buys except for export to the
East. In this country it has been
made simply a pts aller. When Lon
don bankers or merchants have remit.
tances to make to India, they first try.
to get India Council drafts, and fail
ing they send silver. The India
Council draft is preferred to the metal
because, as the brokers say, it is
"clean transaction" On its arrival
in India it has only to be presented
at a government treasury, and it will
be paid in silver. But if the banker
or merchant sends out silver bars,
they have first to. be taken to an In
dian mint, where about three weeks
are required for coming them. For
an Eastern remittance silver is thus
always worth shade less than draft
at sight.
In the open market silver has had
of late to fight against two disadvan.
tages; a natural disadvantage, in so
far as it is less handy to move than
the drafts and commercial paper with
which it has to compete, and an arti-
fetal one resulting from the boycott
put on it as a currency. 1t has two
powerful rivals, with both of whom il.
has to fight with one hand tied. As
currency, gold is preferred to it, and
as form of remittance paper is fav-
ored. Since these two conditions be-
came so accentuated as they are now,
silver has not had fair chance. The
market has always been against it,
not merely because of over supply,
but because in the face of falling
prices nobody will keep stock. OF
all the silver which arrives weekly
and almost daily in London, not a
single ounce goes into store. Every
parcel of it is sold, generally for ex-
port, even before it Is landed. We
are assured by an experienced silver
broker that there is never more than
ESQ, 900, or at the outside 100000,
worth of silver held here at any time.
AS fast as it arrives, the brokers go
around to the Indian banks and i'm
porters to get it sold. There they
run against exchange brokers equally
an xious to sell bills and Council drafts.
Buyers of bills and drafts play off the
one against the other, hence the close
COilllCCtiou thCio always Is OtGWeeU
Eastern exchange and the price of
silver. The same cause puts both of
them either up or down; but though
they move so close together, they are
the keenest competitors. When silver
falls exchange must follow, for if it
did not silver would be sent in place
of bills or drafts; when bills or drafts
are scarce, and their price rises, the
holders of silver naturally endeavor
also to get a higher price.
In another sense silver and drafts
on India are the same thing under
different names. A draft is literally
an order on India for so much coined
silver. Though it has never been
called so, it is virtually ''silver GER
tificate," and here comes IN the very
great Importance of the new move
ment which has been started in New
York. The Interior object of that
movement, as frankly stated by its
promoters, is to make New York the